500 Startups launches $50 million Southeast Asia fund

The vehicle, known as 500 Durians II, will be anchored by Malaysia Venture Capital Management (Mavcap), which also backed the fund's predecessor, 500 Durians I. According to a statement, the fund will invest $50,000-150,000 in about 200 companies.

There will also be follow-on investments of up to $500,000 in companies that demonstrate exceptional progress. In addition, select companies will have access to the firm's marketing accelerator service. At least 10 people will be involved in the deployment of the fund, doubling the team size of Durians I.

Durians I was launched in 2013 and raised $25 million after its original $10 million target was extended. "Like many others at that time, I had grossly underestimated how rapidly Southeast Asia's start-up scene would mature," said Khailee Ng, managing director at 500 Startups.

500 Startups has invested in 119 companies in Southeast Asia during the past two years, representing about 25% of the region's seed deals. Recent activity by the firm has included the launch of a Vietnam-focused vehicle targeting $10 million and the raising of $8.3 million for a Thailand-focused fund known as 500 TukTuks.

Southeast Asia's venture capital market has been expanding on the back of encouraging consumer demographics developments, including the emergence of a larger middle class and rapid mobile penetration. About 40% of the regional population of more than 600 million people are now active internet users.

Earlier this year, Golden Gate Ventures closed its second early-stage fund focused on the region at $60 million, and Mavcap launched a $14.5 million ASEAN seed fund alongside Gobi Partners. The Thailand government, meanwhile, has demonstrated government support for the market, with the launch of a THB20 billion ($576 million) fund.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Fundraising
• Venture
• GPs
• 500 Startups
• seed
• Venture